Lacquer Problems

Michael N. said:

Brush the shellac on. It's fast (as in a lot less working time) but it does require technique and practice. Not much required in terms of equipment either, just a brush or two.

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A brush will work, but I use a pad which is just the corner of a pillow case packed with cheese cloth and tied off. With a brush you can get those annoying brush lines if your flow-out is not good (warming the shellac is an old trick) and drips. No brush cleaning either with a pad. Just stick it back in the shellac bottle and close.

Hi Everyone, felt it was time I started to offer some input instead of just reading! I have been building Ukes seriously for the last 5 years or so and was using Tru Oil successfully! Takes a lot of time but nice results! I recently switched to Osmo Poly X after many experiments and I am getting amazing results with a lot less time spent than other finishes! I have also tried all the other finishes other than spray Laquer and Osmo is the best so far! Happy to post pics and my process if any interest! Cheers!

sequoia said:

A brush will work, but I use a pad which is just the corner of a pillow case packed with cheese cloth and tied off. With a brush you can get those annoying brush lines if your flow-out is not good (warming the shellac is an old trick) and drips. No brush cleaning either with a pad. Just stick it back in the shellac bottle and close.

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Yes of course it works. I don't need to warm it but it does need to be put on water thin, I also use a few drops of spike oil. It's a fairly common violin 'varnish' finish. I've yet to clean a brush, just wrap in plastic until it's needed again. You can get all the coats on before the brush even starts to harden. There's zero maintenance of the brush. I can do a finish in half the time taken for french polishing, perhaps less. As for the lines and drips, that's the technique and experience. Of course at first it seems incredibly difficult to master. Not a lot that can be done about that other than practice and experience.

LMI carries lacquer and thinner. It's in Northern CA. There is no problem with that but at times I have had people worry that the lacquer finish I have been using (Cardinal) isn't as bomb proof as the finishes they are used to with commercial instruments. I have thought about trying a 2K finish but I do like the ease of lacquer.

Wave Ukes said:

Hi Everyone, felt it was time I started to offer some input instead of just reading! I have been building Ukes seriously for the last 5 years or so and was using Tru Oil successfully! Takes a lot of time but nice results! I recently switched to Osmo Poly X after many experiments and I am getting amazing results with a lot less time spent than other finishes! I have also tried all the other finishes other than spray Laquer and Osmo is the best so far! Happy to post pics and my process if any interest! Cheers!

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Hi. Ive never heard of this but see its available in the UK. A quick look on Amazon suggests it can be slow to dry and needs to be applied very thinly. I am interested to hear how you have used it, no of coats, whether sanding between coats is required etc and your opinion on its appearance and durability. Are you using clear or matt version?

greenscoe said:

Hi. Ive never heard of this but see its available in the UK. A quick look on Amazon suggests it can be slow to dry and needs to be applied very thinly. I am interested to hear how you have used it, no of coats, whether sanding between coats is required etc and your opinion on its appearance and durability. Are you using clear or matt version?

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It takes about 8 to 12 hours to fully dry on my kitchen floor before I can walk on it, but I guess that's a fairly thick coat!

Hi, just posted a new thread with the process! Cheers

Thank You!